Freddie Freeman hurt his hand yesterday during an in game collision. Can't play in the All-Star game. Pretty disappointing but at least the Puig fans might get to see him after all.

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The Braves are running out of players. To lose an entire outfield plus your starting first baseman in one weekend is nothing short of disaster.

--Sran

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Well granted they aren't serious injuries. They got back Gattis today and Justin Upton will be ready to start Friday when play resumes as will Jordan Schafer. B.J. Upton goes on the DL for a 15 day stint. (No big loss) They are still figuring out Heyward but I doubt it will be more than a 15 day stint which will be retroactive to last Friday.

Update: Brian McCann was selected to the All-Star game to replace Freeman.

I don't really care if Puig gets in or not. If the fans want to see him then I'm fine with it. They should just know that his hot month is unsustainable. He has already started to cool off. I was honestly surprised that Freeman won the fan vote. I didn't think he had a chance. It seemed like Puig was lightning in a bottle and ESPN was putting in a heavy hand as far as promoting him. Really disappointing to see Freddie fall to injury after finally getting selected.

We shouldn't be surprised that Bruce Bochy didn't pick a Dodger to replace Freeman.

The whole selection of All-Stats needs an overhaul to begin with. Why are the managers making all the choices? If this is supposed to be a fan ballot, why aren't fan votes choosing All Stars? I get that World Series home field advantage is on the line, but the current process is just silly.

As for my hometown Jays, I've written them off for another year. I've made no secret that I felt John Gibbons was a poor choice for manager and that has just been compounded game after game. In his post game interviews, whether they win or lose, there is no change in his attitude. His laid back country yokel attitude is on display: "Oh well darn, we tried really hard, but goshnabbit, they just got more runs than us and they were really good, didn't you see them?" This team is full of potential All-Stars and he does nothing to light any fire under them. This has been a country club atmosphere since Day One and it gives these players nothing to play for.

They have Munenori Kawasaki, a player who even from the bench energizes this team and is a fan favorite. So what do they do? Stick in the minors and keep players like Emilio Bonifacio, who has had a terrible year around to commit more and more errors and mediocre batters. Sure, Kawasaki is not going to hit a home run every at bat, but he is going to give 100% and energize the fans and players when he comes to bat.

There is no sense of urgency in Toronto and that needs to change before this team can ever be considered a World Series contender.

I think Puig's consideration for the ASG was valid. The question of who is a star, has nothing to do with how long they've played. You can be in the game for 20 years and never be a star, and also you can come up through the ranks lickety-split and be a star after a month. Length of time has nothing to do with it. If Puig's a star, he's a star, never mind how long he's been in this.

The whole selection of All-Stats needs an overhaul to begin with. Why are the managers making all the choices? If this is supposed to be a fan ballot, why aren't fan votes choosing All Stars? I get that World Series home field advantage is on the line, but the current process is just silly.

As for my hometown Jays, I've written them off for another year. I've made no secret that I felt John Gibbons was a poor choice for manager and that has just been compounded game after game. In his post game interviews, whether they win or lose, there is no change in his attitude. His laid back country yokel attitude is on display: "Oh well darn, we tried really hard, but goshnabbit, they just got more runs than us and they were really good, didn't you see them?" This team is full of potential All-Stars and he does nothing to light any fire under them. This has been a country club atmosphere since Day One and it gives these players nothing to play for.

They have Munenori Kawasaki, a player who even from the bench energizes this team and is a fan favorite. So what do they do? Stick in the minors and keep players like Emilio Bonifacio, who has had a terrible year around to commit more and more errors and mediocre batters. Sure, Kawasaki is not going to hit a home run every at bat, but he is going to give 100% and energize the fans and players when he comes to bat.

There is no sense of urgency in Toronto and that needs to change before this team can ever be considered a World Series contender.

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Gibbons gets points in my book because he wanted to fight Shea Hillenbrand, though.

The Twins finally have a winning streak going. Two in a row may not sound like much, but considering they lost 11 of 12 previous to that, it's a nice change of pace. At this point I'll take whatever small hope I can.

Looking forward to the Home Run Derby. I enjoy the All Star Game, but like the derby almost as much. I get a kick out of watching the kids shag balls in the field- it can be pretty comical at times.

That's a good question. AA really raided the farm this past offseason, and I'm actually shocked that Toronto would be in on Garza, given that they just went 7 - 13 after winning eleven in a row, and they basically need the entire AL East to tank in order to have the slightest prayer of seeing the postseason. They do need another pitcher, but not one who is a free agent after the season.

I guess I wouldn't be terribly disappointed with a package built around Daniel Norris and maybe Dwight Smith or Christian Lopes, but that would probably require AA to take a semi-permanent leave of his senses, which I would think is unlikely.

The whole selection of All-Stats needs an overhaul to begin with. Why are the managers making all the choices? If this is supposed to be a fan ballot, why aren't fan votes choosing All Stars? I get that World Series home field advantage is on the line, but the current process is just silly.

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The fans vote for the starters, the fans vote for the reserves. This is standard in all league all star games if I'm not mistaken (it's certainly the case in Basketball). It's a mix. The fans care about seeing their favorite players, but a good team composition requires more thought than just majority vote. Decisions like how many pitchers to carry, for example, is something that a manager would have to make.

The final player is just a final toss to the fans who missed their favorite player getting in. They won't play until the end of the game no matter what.

Timby, we both agree that we can't really use Garza, so how about I give you Bonifacio for a bag of balls and you'll realize I left Lawrie tied and gagged on the front steps of Wrigley after I'm gone and we'll have a deal.